


Of Secrets and Ice Cream

by Araminia16



Series: Of Growing Up [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Awkwardness, Eleven has no filter, F/M, Ice Cream, Mortified father, The Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 21:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12690780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araminia16/pseuds/Araminia16
Summary: Jim "Chief" Hopper is only too happy to take his adopted daughter over to the only other woman in his life after her introduction to adulthood. Joyce gives Eleven some advice on things.This was a request so I decided to fill it. :)





	Of Secrets and Ice Cream

Hey look. One reviewer asked for this talk between Joyce and Eleven. It’s still on the vein of the last story and I hope you enjoy it. 

XxOxX

When Eleven had asked Hopper if she could go see Will’s mom the day after she started to bleed he almost threw her into his vehicle and raced to her house. Breakfast had been especially awkward and her cramps had only gotten a little better in the morning from before. Mostly she just curled up on his seat because the pressure seemed to help. She smiled to herself when she thought of the other thing that had helped her. Mike’s presence seemed to just make everything better somehow. The bad things were always less so when they were together. But she could tell that he was uncomfortable with everything but despite that he stayed with her. Every day her feelings for him grew and grew and if they grew much more she could swear that her heart would burst. 

They pulled up in front of the Byer’s house and Hopper got out of the car and made his way to the door. He knocked a few times and Eleven opened her car door and slid out of the car. The door opened to reveal Will. 

“Hey, kid. Your mom home?”

“Yeah. She’s got to work later but she’s in the shower right now. I’ll get her.”

“No, kid. Let her shower in peace. You mind if we come in and wait.”

“No. Hey Eleven.” He smiled and waved at her. 

She gave him a small smile and waved back. “Hey Will. Did you sleep okay?”

“Oh yeah. Like a rock. Scary movies aren’t so scary when you’ve had to survive in a toxic alternate dimension for a week chased by a mouth-faced monster.” He shrugged and opened the door more to let the two of them in.

Eleven still felt guilty about that. It was her fault all everything happened with the gate. But he didn’t seem to hold anything against her. If anything he was probably the next closest friend to her from Mike. But Mike was her boyfriend. And that was different. 

Father and daughter walked into the warm house and they took up residence in the living room. Will chattered animatedly about some new drawings that he had been working on and when Joyce Byers entered the room she was refreshed and surprised to find company. 

“Jim. What are you doing here? Oh, hello sweetheart.” She greeted Eleven physically first with a warm hug then gave one to Hopper. 

“She has some things she has to ask you about and maybe you could do me a favor too.”

“Favor? What is it?” 

“Here.” He pulled Nancy’s note from his pocket and handed it to Joyce. She read it and comprehension dawned on her slowly before she raised her head to look at the two visitors. “Uh. Sure. I can go get that for her but you do realize that this will be a continuous thing. It’s what happens when you take in girls you know. You have to deal with all of that.”

“Yeah. I know. But I don’t know what to get and I--.” 

“It’s fine Jim. I’ll help her out.” She turned to Eleven with a warm gaze, “Now. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. It was a bit scary last night and everything but Nancy helped a lot. She showed me how to put a pad in and gave me a few to take home. And Mike helped me feel better too.”

“Good. Sometimes I think we all forget that you had a different sort of childhood than the rest of us. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

She nodded and out of the corner of her eye saw Will looking very very confused. 

“Hey, Will. You want to come with me for a bit? The girls are going to talk.” Hopper was very nearly jumping out of his skin to get out of there.

Will nodded slowly and got up. “Bring him back in an hour.” Joyce ordered.

Jim nodded and he hurried Will out the door. 

Joyce watched them leave and motioned for Eleven to sit back down and sat down next to her. “I have to say I’ve never really thought much about having to give a talk like this. With boys the talk goes a bit differently.”

“Boys are different.”

“Very much so. Now are you sure that you are okay? Having any cramps? Or feeling a little off?”

“Yeah. But I’ll be okay. Nancy told me that they only last for a few days. And that it’s going to happen every month. Which is totally stupid and I don’t like it.”

Joyce laughed, “It doesn’t get any less stupid over time. It just becomes more of an annoyance.”

“Nancy also said that I could have a baby now if I wanted.”

“Technically yes. That is true. But you are too young for that. You need to get done growing before you think about babies, sweetheart.”

“She said that too.”

“Well she’s right. Babies are a lot of responsibility and they take up a lot of time and you worry about them so much. Every hour of every day. And you have to teach them everything, how to eat, play, laugh, deal with the messes and the tantrums and the lack of sleep. Be a kid. Don’t try to grow up too fast.”

Eleven nodded and thought about how she should ask her next question. They only had an hour before the other two would be back. “She also said something else. About how she didn’t want to think of Mike having sex. But she wouldn’t tell me what that meant.”

Joyce’s eyes widened slightly and she cleared her throat, “Well. That’s a…That’s a lot for someone to explain.”

“What is it? Sex?”

“Well. Uh. It’s not really something you should worry about.”

“Well how do I not worry about it if I don’t even know what I’m not worrying about?”

Joyce had to begrudgingly agree and she gave a half shrug, “Jim’s going to kill me.” She took a deep breath and took Eleven’s hands in hers before making sure that she was looking the teenager in the eye. “Sex is what people do to make babies. It’s between a man and woman. And you should only do it if you are ready for it. You shouldn’t do anything that you aren’t comfortable with and if some boy tries to pressure you into having sex before you are ready you punch him in the nose or throw him across the room with your powers.” 

Eleven laughed. “So is it bad?”

“It can be. But it can also be wonderful.” Eleven watched Will’s mom smile slightly.

“How?”

“Okay. If Jim asks then we didn’t talk about this, okay?”

“A lie?”

“No. Not a lie. A secret. Just between us. Like a special promise, okay?”

“A secret.” Eleven nodded eager to hear what she had to say.

“It should always be wonderful. It’s what happens between two people who love each other very much. It is sort of like telling them that you love them most of all and that you want to share something special with them and it can make you feel really good.”

“Love.” She hummed out, thinking of Mike. She might not have known what the word was when she first stumbled onto him in the rain but she knew now and she loved him even then.

“I’m going to tell you that you should be married before you have sex but that would make me a hypocrite. But I’ll still tell you that it would be a good idea.”

“Why? If it is something you do with someone you love who loves you back isn’t it a good thing?”

“Because sex comes with a lot more stuff than just babies. You have to be ready here,” Joyce tapped the side of her head. “And here.” She tapped her heart. “And that takes time.” 

“So is it like kissing then? When Mike kisses me it makes me feel happy. And when he holds my hand and when we sit next to each other.”

“Sort of. It’s more than kissing. A lot more.”

“So how does it work?”

“Do you know the difference between boys and girls?”

Eleven nodded. “I have breasts.” They were small but there, “And a vagina and uterus. I read about the body in a book. Men don’t have breasts and they have a penis instead of a vagina.”

“Well. The mechanics are pretty simple. Sex is when the penis goes into the vagina and repeats for a little while.” The barest of basics was all Joyce was prepared to cover. Her parents did a pretty shitty job of explaining sex to her and that ended so very well. She had to do better by this girl in front of her. 

“How?”

Joyce barked out a laugh and she continued to chuckle while trying to catch her breath, “Oh, sweetheart. You’ll find out. It takes some work sometimes though.”

“Is that all?” It didn’t sound very scary or complicated.

“Well that’s the basics. I’m not telling you how to seduce your boyfriend.”

“Seduce?”

“You’ll have to look it up.”

Eleven nodded. “I love Mike. But we shouldn’t have sex because we aren’t old enough? How do I show him that I think he’s more special than anyone else then? If sex is what you do when you love someone? I like to show Mike that I love him. He’s always doing so many nice things for me.”

Joyce’s heart warmed and she gave the girl a bright smile, “He already knows that. Trust me. The way you look each other would put most couples to shame. He already stares at you like you are his entire world and when you were apart he was a shell of himself. You are the most important person in his life. You don’t need to have sex to tell him that. And never think you have to even if you hear the other girls talk about it. And personally I doubt Mike has thought much about it. Now. Any more questions right now?”

Eleven shook her head, “Thank you.” 

“No problem. And if you ever need any more girl talk from someone older than you then you know where to find me, okay? Oh. And when you do have sex, a few years from now make sure you have condoms. It’s a big step and you don’t need an extra surprise from it.”

“I guess I do have another question.”

“Go for it.” 

“Sometimes after Mike kisses me I feel really tingly all over and when I get home it doesn’t go away and it makes it hard for me to sleep.”

“Do you…do you touch anywhere or does he touch you when you kiss?”

“No. Well sometimes he holds my hand or brings his hand up to my neck when he kisses me.”

“Sometimes it is a good idea to explore your body on your own. Figure out how everything works and not just by reading about it. It doesn’t have to be anything special but when you are alone just…explore.” Joyce finished lamely, her cheeks finally starting to heat up trying to explain masturbation to a fourteen year old girl who just got her period and knew nothing about it. 

“Okay.” She nodded, confused but excited to find out more about all these things that made everyone blush so much. 

Joyce hugged Eleven and pulled her back to give her another warm smile. “How about we break out some ice cream and listen to the radio until the boys get back?”

“Yes.” Eleven nodded eagerly and Joyce let her go to go into the kitchen and bring out a whole container of chocolate ice cream and two spoons. She handed all of it to Eleven and went to turn on the radio. 

“No bowls?”

“Nah. I don’t want to have to do more dishes later. Or make the boys do it. This works fine.” They grinned at each other and sat down on the couch to bounce to the beat. Eleven felt very lucky to have Will’s mom here for her since her mama was sick. 

Hopper and Will came back not long later and found the two with a half eaten carton of ice cream and dancing in the living room. Women were so strange.


End file.
